Felicity Packs a Punch
by thegirlfrommod4A
Summary: 2 (3?) part fix-it for something that has always pestered me on Arrow. Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

_I OWN NOTHING! So, something that has never quite sat right with me on Arrow is Felicity's general lack of self defense abilities pre-team. She grew up in Vegas, moved across the country to Boston, alone, for college, then went to a third big city, Starling, for her job. If we're going by common DC lore, Starling is near Seattle, so that's another solo cross country move. And you're going to tell me that through all of that, a women with a brain fit for MIT never thought to learn to throw a punch just in case? I don't buy it. Here's my fix-it for that, enjoy!_

Felicity was five when she first walked past the doors of "Maccabee Krav-Maga studio" on her way home from her first day of kindergarten. A quick peek inside as she walked by showed a lot of people punching each other, and Felicity wrinkled her nose in disgust. Computers were much cleaner that all of that sweat, and she wouldn't want to ruin her new pink skirt. Nevertheless, she found herself glancing into the window of the studio each time she walked past over the course of that year and the next several.

Felicity was eleven when she first walked in the doors of "Maccabee Krav-Mada studio" on the Saturday after her first week of sixth grade. Her route home no longer required her to walk by, but it now involved passing some seedier bars where she felt eyes linger as she went by. They seemed to get more intense each day, and Felicity was smart enough to know she wanted a way to make sure they didn't touch her. Remembering all of the punching, she decided to give the place a try. Over the course of that year and the next few, her ex-Mossad instructor, Ori, proved to her that yes, sweat was definitely messier than computers. But it was sweat that got her out of many a sticky situation between starting classes and leaving Vegas.

Felicity was sixteen when she first arrived at BOS airport, all set for MIT. She hailed a cab and made her way to campus and found herself to busy to worry much about martial arts while navigating her way through her new life as a Bostonian Goth. Sure, she still thought about it, and occasionally found herself Googling nearby gyms, but then she met Cooper Seldon at the end of freshmen year and the world fell away into a haze of coding and kisses. One night, towards the beginning of their junior year, however, the world decided to reassert itself in a rather obnoxious manner as they were walking home from dinner.

"HEY sweetheart!" A young man called out drunkenly from the bar stoop they were passing. She and Cooper drew closer together, Felicity whispering "ignore him," in her boyfriend's ear. And that might have been that, but the man, boy really, he looked just 21 and it was a college bar, continued with his catcalls, planting himself in front of him as his friends jeered.

"Ditch the troll darling. They say white's for virgins, and from the look of you, you're far enough from that to make even me happy," he drawled drunkenly.

Cooper stepped in front of her, even as she tugged at his arm hissing "just go around him!"

"Say it again, I dare you." Cooper said to their new companion, looking the bigger man straight in the eye. He laughed.

"Alright dwarf, I will. You're girlfriend has a hell of an ass, and I want it. So are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

Felicity bristled at the implication that she was something to be given and taken, but before she could process the thought, she was watching Cooper's arm swing out. The other guy was either trained or lucky, since he dodged the clumsy punch with ease and then delivered one of his own to Cooper's gut before grabbing Felicity's bicep.

"Come on girl, I've heard that all you goths are freaks in bed, and aren't I damn better than that mess anyways?" the creep slurred, starting to pull her away from Cooper, who was moaning on the concrete. Felicity rolled her eyes and internally thanked her lucky stars that she wasn't the young girl she had been who wore skirts. The cargo pants allowed her to easily deploy some of her choicest moves from training almost three years ago, and though she was a bit sloppy, they still worked like a charm. She left her would-be attacker with a twisted ankle, broken nose, and a hard kick to the nuts before rushing back to Cooper, who was leaning against a streetlamp and eying her with some trepidation.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked her warily.

Felicity made a snap decision. "You know how much TV I watch!" She giggled, as they wrapped their arms back together. "Plus, I guess instinct kinda kicked in," she added at her boyfriend's disbelieving look.

Cooper seemed to accept that, and they made it back to the dorms without further incident.

6 months later, Cooper was taken by the FBI and Felicity went back to wearing skirts.

About a year and a half after that, Felicity was back in BOS airport, headed for Starling City and a job in the IT department of Queen Consolidated.

**Please review, part 2 to come!**


	2. Chapter 2

_OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU! The amount of support on this is amazing and wonderful and overwhelming. Special shout out to my reviewers, you three are the best for taking the time to write nice things :) I should also mention this fic was slightly inspired by one where Oliver tried to teach Felicity to shoot a gun, but she turned out to be a crack shot already. Though I still don't own anything, I can still write about it, so I give you: Part 2!_

Felicity had been working in the foundry for about a month when Oliver came up to her one day after patrolling and declared authoritatively, "You need training."

Felicity looked up from her computers and opened her mouth to say that she had actually been doing krav-maga since she was eleven, in fact she had been at her current studio in Starling since a month after she'd arrived and that she was perfectly capable of defending herself if the need arose, but before she could speak Oliver cut her off.

"Look, I know you're down here most of the time, but we might need you to do some undercover work, or to drive us both in the van one night and I need you prepared if that happens. Besides," he continues, his voice taking on a slightly lecturing tone, "it is always a good idea for a girl to know how to defend herself in case the worst happens."

Felicity snapped her mouth shut with an audible click. First of all, she was a full grown woman, not a young girl. And secondly, she could defend herself, and Oliver hadn't even asked before giving out orders. She glanced at Diggle for help, hoping maybe he'd give her a chance to speak. but the man merely shrugged his huge shoulders.

"Oliver is right Felicity. We'll protect you, but we also have to be prepared for the worst."

Felicity rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse, deciding to have a bit of fun if Oliver was going to insist on being such an asshole about this. She made sure to huff loudly as she climbed the stairs out of the basement, as she heard Oliver behind her saying

"It really is for her own good."

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Oliver gulped, and Felicity watched his adam's apple bob with some satisfaction. She had gone for the tiniest workout outfit she owned, a hot pink sports bra with tiny grey running shorts that had a matching pink stripe down the side. She had a shirt tucked away just in case, of course, but she totally deserved a little bit of revenge for always having to look-at-but-not-touch his abtastic highness.

"Can you and Diggle spar a little bit first?" Felicity asked innocently. "I've always been a visual learner, so it might help if I saw an example of proper technique before I try it out."

Oliver looked at Diggle, who nodded, and the two men took their positions on the mat. Felicity watched with interest. She knew how to throw a proper punch of course, along with a fair amount of vastly more complicated moves, so instead of doing as she had told Oliver and watching their basic moves, she focused on things like the way they each moved and the moves that they always fell back on. It was a lot easier, Felicity thought wryly, than it was when the computers were blocking her view.

"You good?" Oliver asked, and Felicity nodded.

"OK, then lets start you out on this dummy." he said, guiding her over.

Felicity dropped into a stance a bit to narrow to be useful, and gave the dummy a feeble punch. For the next half-hour, she allowed Oliver to "improve" her form, putting more focus into not giving her training away than into actually slugging the inanimate object. When Oliver stepped away, she spoke again.

"Whew!" she declared, swiping a bit of imaginary sweat from her forehead. "I think I'm getting better!"

Oliver's smile made her roll her eyes internally, as did his teasing response.

"You are! A bit more of that and you'll be ready to fighting off bullies on the playground!"

"Do you think...Do you think I could try punching you? A real person would be more fun than a dummy!" Felicity asked hesitantly, finishing with a sweet smile. If he said no, she would have to go through the charade again, this time with blocking or kicking or something equally mundane. She was banking on him to say yes to indulge her. Then came the crux. Oliver's survival instincts were never far from the surface. She would have to hit him hard enough to startle him into reacting, starting a sparring bout with her. If she was too weak, it was another route back to boredom. She didn't expect to get him flat on his back, but she did need to be able to prove her abilities so she could get back to her babies and not waste any more time with pointless lessons.

"Okay," he said.

"Great!" Felicity bubbled. "Just let me run to the bathroom!"

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Felicity finished some stretching in the bathroom and headed back downstairs, throwing her shirt back over her chair on the way to the sparring area. She then dropped into a perfect starting position across from Oliver.

"Very good!" he praised, stepping closer. "Now just remember what we went over and lets see what you've got. Don't worry about hurting me."

"Ok!" she replied, in her head and out loud in very different tones. With that, she aimed a solid punch straight at his gut.

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"So Felicity," Digg started when they were sitting around a table at Big Belly Burger later that night, "Tell us about your training," he invited, while Oliver sulked over his fries.

Felicity laughed, "Well, I actually started going to a krav maga studio when I was 11..."

**And that's it folks! Thank you again for you're encouragement in all forms, more is always welcome. I might return to this little fix-it at some point in time, but for now I'm happy to leave it with Felicity knocking Oliver's ego down a peg :)**


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